Disney Plus is getting an eye-watering price hike, but you still have time to avoid it

Hot on the heels of Kayo Sports and BritBox, yet another major streaming service has announced a shake up to its pricing structure, and this time it’s a big one for both Aussies and New Zealanders.

Disney Plus has announced that from March 5, 2024, the platform will be offering up two different plans instead of the single option it has now. Annoyingly however, if you want to keep all the features of your current subscription, you’re going to have to fork out up to an extra AU$48 / NZ$48 per year.

The new Standard plan will keep you at the current rate of AU$13.99 / NZ$14.99 a month (or AU$139 / NZ$149 per year), but if you want to keep streaming 4K content along with Dolby Audio and four concurrent streams, you’ll now need to step up to the Premium plan, which costs AU$17.99 / NZ$18.99 per month (or AU$179 / NZ$189 yearly).

That’s a wild jump in price – AU$48 / NZ$48 if you pay monthly, or AU$40 / NZ$40 for yearly subscriptions. Here’s what everyone can expect to pay, and the features each plan includes, once March 5 rolls around:

All plans will still allow downloads on up to 10 different devices, and there’s currently no indication that any plans will have ads like Netflix or Binge’s cheapest plans – though this might be on the cards sometime in the next few years if Disney Plus in the US and UK are any indication.

This is the third streaming service in 2024 to announce a major shake up to its pricing structure in Australia, with Kayo Sports adding 4K streaming for a higher price, and BritBox also increasing its annual fee in February after silently raising its monthly cost.

The increased prices for streaming services are only adding to the ongoing cost of living crisis, and many households are going to have to make some hard decisions when it comes to how they watch shows and movies; given it’s only January, we’d speculate this won’t be the last of the price hikes for the year.

There is a way you can beat that price rise, however. If you’re currently on Disney Plus’ annual plan, or subscribe to one between now and March 4, you won’t have to pay the eye-watering AU$179 yearly fee to have access to the features included with the Premium plan. Instead you can lock in the AU$139 cost for one more year, along with all the features that come with the new Premium plan, effectively saving you AU$40, so long as you get in before the dreaded D-day of March 5.

Coming to Disney Plus in 2024…

Disney Plus’ library is consistently growing – the content available on the platform alone near-doubled back in 2021 for folks Down Under with the inclusion of Star. Besides the typical Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars content originally included on the service, Star brought along some more mature shows and movies, really cementing Disney Plus as one of the best streaming services.

2024 is set to be a big year for new shows and movies on the platform as well, and here’s a sampling of what’s to come:

The Marvels 

Streaming: February 9, 2024

The Marvels is coming to Disney Plus from February 9, so you’ll be able to catch the latest movie in the MCU right from the comfort of your own home. This time around, Captain Marvel finds herself, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) swapping places whenever they use their powers. The three of them must team up to take on the latest threat to Earth, and find a way to put a stop to this quantum entanglement.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 3

Streaming: February 21, 2024

The final season of The Bad Batch is set to air on Disney Plus from February 21. Star Wars fans are in for a treat as there’ll be three full episodes available on the premiere date, and new ones released weekly right up until the start of May – giving a full 15 episode season to the crew from Clone Force 99. This animated series is a must-watch for Star Wars fans, especially if you’re curious about the complications and adventures of a bad batch of clone troopers who refused to follow Order 66.

Inside Out 2

Streaming: TBC - sometime after its theatrical release in June

If you were a big fan of the 2015 Pixar film Inside Out, a sequel is coming to cinemas in June and will likely be available on Disney Plus sometime in the second half of this year. Riley is back, and she’s getting older – which means more emotions are turning up, disrupting the flow Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear have developed in the years following the original story. If Inside Out 2 is anything like the original, it’s going to be a heartfelt story that anyone of any age can relate to.

 Deadpool 3

Streaming: TBC – sometime after July 26

The wise-cracking merc with a mouth is getting a third movie, and it’s going to be the only Marvel theatrical release for 2024. It’ll hit theatres on July 26, so it won’t come to Disney Plus until the later half of this year, but it’s set to be another hilarious instalment, especially as Hugh Jackman is confirmed to reprise his long-time role as Wolverine, coming face to face with Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool for the first time in a film since 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries

Streaming: TBC – AU/NZ Spring 2024

After first appearing as the main antagonist in WandaVision, Agatha Harkness is getting her own TV series, and this time she’s powerless. Once again portrayed by Kathryn Hahn, Agatha now has to figure out how to get her powers back, while dealing with the real world after breaking out of her confinement in Westview.

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